Love ’em & hate ’em: The Seahawks Kellen Winslow trade

Seahawks New TE Toy K2

Rarely do the Seahawks make a move that I am completely for nor am I often completely against. The trade that sent Kellen Winslow from Tampa Bay to Seattle for a late round draft pick in the 2013 NFL Draft is no different.

Here then is my case For and Against the K2 signing by #PCJS.

Love ’em

Production

Its hard to argue with the amount of production that Winslow has had since joining the league in 2004 (with the exception of the 2005 NFL season that he missed in its entirety after crashing his motorcycle).

Its hard to argue with the amount of production that Winslow Jr. has had

He has averaged 4.75 receptions a game and averages 841 yards per 16 games during his career. In his three years as a Buccaneer he averaged 72.7 receptions, 792 yards and 4 touchdowns per season.

If Kellen can come to Seattle and have 75% of that production he would still beat the Seahawks season records for a tight end by roughly 24 receptions and 245 yards while falling 1 touchdown short of being tied for first in that category as well.

While in Tampa Bay Kellen was the team leader in receptions every season and either first or second in receiving yards.

His last three seasons in Cleveland were not much different, ’06-’07 he led the team in reception and in ’08 he was second despite playing in only 10 games that season.

All three of those seasons he was second on the teams in yards receiving. Granted he has not been surrounded by a talented wide receiving corp but that may make his accomplishments even that much more impressive.

Ability

It shows that he has the ability to be a featured receiver from the tight end position even when the opposing teams defense knows he is the teams go to receiver.

I was very disappointed when the Seattle Seahawks did not address the tight end position during the draft.

I had held out hope that either Anthony McCoy or Cameron Morrah could develop into a solid tight end but between injuries and poor play I have grown tired of waiting and it bacame clear to me that entering the season with Zach Miller and those two at tight end would severely hamper the team even if Zach stays healthy all season.

The Seahawks run a lot of two tight end sets and only one tight end on the roster has any business playing on Sunday after John Carlson left during free agency.

Hate ’em

Attitude is an issue

Probably mine as much as his as far as my personal feelings about this move goes. I am a pretty patriotic guy, with a family full of military members. One grandfather fought in World War II, the other is a retired Air Force vet.

How is the Winslow trade going to effect Zach Miller?

My father was a Medic in Vietnam who was disabled during the war (the agent orange the soldiers were sprayed with is likely the reason I am missing part of my right arm) and my brother served in the Army as well.

On November 8th 2003, while our Nations brave young men and women were on foreign soil fighting and dying for all of us, he had the audacity to call his privileged, spoiled, selfish punk ass a soldier.

That moment turned me against him and I can only hope that he has grown up and matured enough since then so that he isn’t a problem in the locker room or with the media.

I hope he can change my opinion of him because I haven’t been this unhappy about a guy becoming a Seahawk since they brought in Raheem Brock.

How is this going to effect Zach Miller?

Kellen Winslow Jr. is a receiving tight end meaning we will likely see Zach in the blocking role more often then Zach would like. He played that role last season because the Seahawks had no choice but to keep him in to block or let the quarterback get smashed.

What happens if Miller has another 25 reception season while Winslow grabs 50+? Is Zach okay being a highly paid tight end who loses all his national recognition?

If Winslow goes to a Pro Bowl will Miller be satisfied being an “unsung hero” or will Zach demand a trade?

All these questions and more will be answered before the draft next season, as long as his knee holds up enough for him to play at least 12 games this season. For now at least the Seahawks have two tight ends on the roster who have the ability to play football at the NFL level.